Apparatus for applying a coating to sheet material

ABSTRACT

An apparatus for applying a coating of paraffin to one side of a sheeting material having an applicator roll which is rotatable mounted in a container of liquid paraffin so that a lamination of paraffin is transferred to the face of the sheeting material and an adjustable brake having a pivotable crossbar provided with a friction pad for engagement with the supply roll for controlling the tension of the sheet material as it is drawn through the apparatus.

United States Patent Inventors Robert B. Taylor;

Robert G. Walker, Fort Wayne, 1nd.

APPARATUS FOR APPLYING A COATING TO SHEET MATERIAL 1 Claim, 7 DrawingFigs.

US. Cl 118/33, 1 18/246 Int. Cl B05c 1/00,

B05c 1 1 [00 Field of Search 1 18/246,

202, 33, (Digest), 5

[561 References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 931,492 8/1909 Ross(118/Wallpaper Dig) 2,600,636 6/ 1952 Goetz et a1 242/ 1 56. l X 219,9639/1879 Mather l l8/246X 1,799,769 4/ 1931 Thompson... l l8/246X1,974,734 9/1934 Barber 1 18/246X 2,128,516 8/1938 Graham.... l18/246X2,678,284 5/ 1954 Holt l 18/202X 3,323,298 6/ 1967 Marks et al. l l 8/33X Primary Examiner-John P. Mclntosh Attorney.leffers & RickertABSTRACT: An apparatus for applying a coating of paraffin to one side ofa sheeting material having an applicator roll which is rotatable mountedin a container of liquid paraffin so that a lamination of paraffin istransferred to the face of the sheeting material and an adjustable brakehaving a pivotable crossbar provided with a friction pad for engagementwith the supply roll for controlling the tension of the sheet materialas it is drawn through the apparatus:

PATENTEU Mm 8 I871 SHEET 2 UP 3 IN V EN TORS. ROBERT B. TAYLOR ROBERT 6.WALKER Y J v:

ATTORNEY APPARATUS FOR APPLYING A COATING TO SHEET MATERIAL Thisapplication is a division of application Ser. No. 462,506, filed June 9,1965, now US. Pat. No. 3,436,232.

This invention relates to an improved process to an apparatus andarticle used in a process for producing cooked articles from uncookeddough without substantial change to the dough so that its quality andshape are substantially unaffected by storage.

The cooking arts have long been interested in obtaining an improvedarticle which can store and contain uncooked dough until the time ofcooking, prior to serving. Many desirable recipes can be embodied inuncooked dough and the consumer is able to realize the skill incombining the ingredients and method of processing if it is possible topreserve the uncooked dough without change in flavor in nutrition duringthe time that it is stored. The best method of storage conceived thusfar in the art is to freeze the dough after it is sealed in the package,and in this way the dough will preserve much of its original value andwithout substantially varying as a starting material for producing afood article such as a doughnut, roll,

'cruller, etc.

There has been proposed gas and moisture-impervious sheet material forconstructing a container for receiving the uncooked dough. Typically,these materials are polyethylene, vinylidene-vinyl copolymer,polypropylene, v polyethylene terphthalate, and other such similarmaterials. It has been found, however, that such materials will tend tostick to the dough, and will cause the dough models to be torn when theyare unpacked. For thisreason, the gas-impervious materials have not beenas extensively used as their physical properties would indicate. Itforms an important feature of the present in vention that we can producea container formed from such impervious materials but without damage tothe uncooked dough, and this discovery is based upon use of a carefullydimensioned coating of paraffin which is present in the range of about0.0015 to about 0.001 inches.

It is one of the important objects of the present invention to provideboth apparatus and process for producing a carefully dimensioned coatingof paraffin such as petroleum paraffin on a sheet of stock material andthat such process and apparatus can be employed to produce substantialquantities of the coated stock.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a process forstoring and processing uncooked dough in which the dough can be storedwithout substantial diminution of the value of the dough in producing acooked article, said process providing for both defrosting and proofing(regardless of the order) while the dough is contained within acompletely sealed container thereby insuring the proper atmosphere whichis suited for the defrosting and proofing operations.

It is an important feature of the present invention to provide aproperly processed article of dough for cooking whichhas been previouslystored in frozen condition and without significant loss of food value ortaste value as a starting material and which can be removed from itsstorage container without damage and after defrosting for final cookingat the approximate time of serving.

It is one of the objects of the present invention to make it possiblefor one unskilled in the art to produce a quality pastry such as adoughnut, by combining into the product all of the quality and skill offormulating, conditioning, etc., up to the point of baking or frying sothat a relatively unskilled processor can produce a quality productafter masteringthe relatively simple step of cooking the product whichis delivered to him in a condition ready for defrosting and thencooking.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a process inwhich substantial .quantities of dough can be prepared and frozen, readyfor cooking as the needs require, by building an inventory of productsthat are frozen and ready for cooking in accordance with the schedule ofdemand. This way greater flexibility of manufacture is permitted to meetunexpected demand, the previously prepared dough being ready forimmediate, or substantially immediate, baking or frying so that it isfresh at the time of use.

Other objects and features of the .present invention will becomeapparent from a consideration of the following description whichproceeds with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a top view of the apparatus for producing laminated sheetstock used in fabricating the container;

FIG. IA is a section view taken on line lA-lA of FIG. 1;

FIG. 2 is a side view of the apparatus looking in the direction of thearrows 2-2 in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged detail view of the applicator roll and tray, takenon line 34 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a top view of the package of prepared, uncooked dough which ismaintained in a frozen condition prior to thawing, proofing, andcooking;

. FIG. 5 is a section view taken on line 5-5 of FIG. 4; and

FIG. 6 is a view similar to that of FIG. 5 after proofing of the doughin which the fermentation has taken place.

Referring now to the drawings, the apparatus which is designatedgenerally by reference numeral 10 includes a supply roll 12 of flexiblegasand moisture-impervious sheet material such as polyethylene. Inaddition to polyethylene, which has a suitable degree of impenneability,other plastic compositions may also be used, such as polymethylenemethacrylate, polypropylene, polyethylene terphthalate andvinylidene-vinyl copolymer sometimes referred to as Saran." Thesedescribed materials, while possessing the necessary imperviousquality,'tend to adhere to the raw dough which is the material formaking a doughnut and, therefore, it is necessary to condition theseplastic materials so that they will not so adhere. It is the purpose ofthe apparatus 10 to apply a thin controllable thickness of paraffin ontothe surface which is in-'' tended for engagement with the dough whichwill release from the dough and will not destroy the models of doughwhen they are taken out for cooking. The apparatus 10 includes a tray I4containing a quantity of paraffin 16 which is maintained in liquid stateand at a desired temperature by a suitable heating element 18. Anapplicator roll 20, which is mounted on a shaft 22, dips into theparaffin l6'and a coating of paraffin adheres to the roll 20 as itrotates out of the bath. The plastic sheet 24 (FIG. ,3) is passed overan idler roll 26 and is reversed in direction from the direction of thearrow 28 to the direction of the arrow 30, and is then passed over asecond idler roll 32, and then over the applicator roll 20 where it hasengagement with the applicator roll 20.

After leaving the applicator roll 20 the paraffin-coated sheet 24 ispassed under an idler roll 34 which engages the ,uncoated surface andextends for a substantial span 36 (FIG. 2) which allows time for theparaffin layer to cool. The sheet is next passed under an idler roll 38and then after extending through span 40 is wound onto a windup roll 42which is drivenon the shaft 44 (FIGS. 1 and 2) by a pulley wheel 46which is coupled with drive wheel 48 through a pulley 50, the power ordrive wheel 48 being actuated by a motor 52. The rate of rotation ofapplicator roll 20 and the windup roll 42 are coordinated by gearing thewindup roll 42 with the applicator roll 20 through a belt 54 whichinterconnects pulleys 56, 58 (FIG. 1), mounted on the ends of shafts 44.and 22 respectively. The applicator roll must turn constantly because itsupplies the paraffin, but the rotation is not necessarily coordinatedwith the windup roll. The windup roll determines the rate of productionof the apparatus because it pulls the plastic sheet from the supply roll12 through the apparatus.

It has been found that the thickness of the paraffin is of importance.If there is insufficient paraffin in the order of substantially lessthan 0.001 of an inch, then the coating will be inadequate and theproduct will have a tendency to stick to the plastic sheet. On the otherhand, if the paraffin builds up to too great an amount, i.e.,substantially more than 0.0015 of an inch it will tend to crack and tendto be removed from the sheet. It is, of course, essential that thecoated sheet be flexible in order to provide a smooth coating.

The thickness of the paraffin coating is determined by the position ofthe roll 32 in relation to the applicator roll 20, the idler roll 32 and34 being adjustably rotatably mounted on corresponding shaft 60 on lever66, (FIG. 1), the lever being pivoted at its end 70, on pin 74. Thetension of the film against the applicator roll 20 also affects thethickness of the coating. By adjusting the levers 66, 68 downwardly,i.e., counterclockwise about their mountings (FIG. 2) the pressure ofengagement will be increased, and this will decrease the thickness ofthe paraffin coating on the sheet 24. The coating of paraffin isincreased in thickness by positioning the roll 32 by raising the lever66. The degree of thickness is adjustably obtained by suitablypositioning the lever 66 through a setscrew 80 (FIG. 3) which can bescrewed up and down to raise and lower the lever 66 and thereby controlthe paraffin thickness to the desired thickness.

To achieve uniformity in the coating of the paraffin on the sheet 24, itis necessary to maintain tension on the sheet, and the degree of tensionis controllable by means of engaging a holding means such as a frictionstop 82 against the periphery of the roll 12 frictionally impeding itsunrolling movement so that the drawing force of the windup roll 42will'increase tension on the sheet causing it to be drawn taut andsmooth.

The brake 82 is in the form of a friction pad 83 or the like, which isdisposed at the undersurface of crossbar 84 (FIG. 1A) which is held atits opposite ends by pivot arms 86, 88, mounted on pivots 91 and 92respectively. The pad 83 can be forced downwardly to increase frictionengagement and correspondingly increase tension on the plastic sheet 24,or, frictional engagement can be decreased and tension correspondinglydecreased. It has been found that in the absence of this controlledtension the coating of paraffin will tend to be nonuniformly appliedfrom edge to edge of the continuous length plastic material.

It is, of course, within the teaching of the present invention to use acontrollable or adjustable tensioning means and such tensioning meanscan be regulated to provide the necessary tension for effecting uniformapplication of paraffin.

In use, the paraffin-coated plastic sheet is cut to a prescribed sizeand the uncooked dough models 90 (FIG. 4), in whatever number isdesired, are placed on one sheet of the material in contact with theparaffin-coated side. A second sheet with the coated side downward, isthen overlayed on the models 90 and the edges of the two sheets arefused together to hermetically seal the enclosure formed by the twosheets. It should be noted that the edges of the two sheets are fusedtogether and the paraffin does not interfere or prevent the sealing ofthe two sheets. The product 90 is thus maintained in a controlledatmosphere and it has been found that this atmosphere is suitable tofreezing and storing the product of uncooked dough. While stored, thedough may be either proofed or unproofed as may be desired. The productis then stored in a freezer at a substantially constant temperature inorder to prevent dehydration and spoilage of the dough and is defrostedand proofed as needed before being cooked.

In some instances it may be desirable to proof in warm water which willexpedite the raising of the dough. It has been found that na improvedproofing occurs within the completely sealed enclosure 92 (FIG. 5)because of the optimum conditions of moisture which permit the dough toproduce a fluffier construction more uniform in texture, size and crosssection. After the proofing occurs, enclosure 92 expands from the shapeof FIG. 5 to that of FIG. 6 and it has been found that the swelling orraising of the dough occurs more uniformly, and less sensitively thanthe same dough outside the completely sealed enclosure.

One ordinarily skilled in the art can easily be taught to perform thecooking operation for the raised dough. The present invention proposesto place in the hands of those having ordinary skill in the art apreviously prepared pastry dough which embodies all of the skill offormulating and processing necessary to produce a product of excellenttaste and of freshly cooked quality. All that the unskilled, orordinarily skilled individual needs to do is to defrost and remove theraised product and then place it in a vat of cooking oil (not shown) orinsert it in a bake oven (not shown), and a superior product will beproduced.

The cooking operation can be performed either by batch process or by acontinuous process. In any event, substantial quantities of uncookeddough can be purchased and shipped from the processor to the point ofcooking and consumption.

Regardless of the volume of cooking the finished produce is of the samehigh degree of quality and embodies the built-in skill of doughformulation and processing and requires only the final step of cookingon the part of the user. Because the dough is in a frozen condition, itcan be safely shipped and stored, the only requirement being thatstorage temperature is relatively uniformly held at or below 0 F.

Any paraffin which has adhered to the raw dough will be dissipatedduring cooking because its vapor pressure at the cooking temperaturewill cause it to dissipate. The paraffin coating on the plastic sheetserves its function in providing ready release from the dough when theenclosure sheets are peeled away.

If it is desired to, in order to maintain the spacing of the doughmodels in FIG. 4, the two sheets can be spotwelded together at variouslocations, as indicated by reference numeral 98. This way the raw doughmodels are isolated from each other and will not come into contact witheach other. In a still further application of the invention, separatorscan be employed, if desired, to maintain the relative spacing of themodels.

In the operation of producing the plastic sheet for packaging the rawdough models, the levers 66, 68, are pivoted on their ends 70, 72, aboutpivots 74 and 76, causing the sheet 24 to press against the coating roll20 which is driven together with the windup roll 42 through the belt 54.The levers 66, 68 are quite heavy, and produce the desired degree ofapplying force on the sheet 24 depending upon their angular position asdefined by the setscrews which are threaded into mounting plates (FIG.3) and are held in that position by nuts 102.

The tension of the sheet 24 affects the thickness of the coating ofparaffin 16 which, as previously mentioned, should be in the range ofabout I to l /zinch for optimum results. When the levers 66, 68 are notin use they are raised and held in a raised position by linkages I10(FIGS. 1 and 2).

The thickness of the paraffin coating is also controlled adjustably bypositioning the roll 32 with respect to the applicator roll 20, and bymaintaining a relatively constant temperature of the paraffin 16 througha suitable heating element 18. The sheet is drawn continuously throughthe apparatus by the windup roll 42.

The described operation of the apparatus 10 produces a suitably uniformproduct suitable for packaging, storing and processing the dough for itseventual use and completely seals the dough at a high quality conditionin a frozen state and provides the best environment for defrosting andproofing before cooking.

Although the present invention has been illustrated and described inconnection with a plurality of example embodiments, it will beunderstood that these are illustrative of the invention and are by nomeans restrictive thereof. It is reasonably to be expected that thoseskilled in this art can make numerous revisions and adaptations of theinvention, and it is intended that such revisions and adaptations willbe included within the scope of the following claims as equivalents ofthe invention.

We claim:

1. Apparatus for applying a suitable coating of paraffin over a sheetstock material which is impervious to both gas and moisture, comprisinga support frame; means mounted on said frame for rotatably supporting asupply roll of sheet stock material; an applicator rol. having a portionwhich turns through a tray of liquid paraffin, said applicator roll andtray being mounted on said frame; a lever means pivotally mounted at oneend on said frame, the other end of said lever means being adjacent andabove said applicator roll when said lever means is in a loweredposition; a pair of parallel idler rolls mounted on said other end ofsaid lever means with said applicator roll being between said pair ofidler rolls when said lever means is in said lowered position; a thirdidler roll mounted on said other end of said lever arm, said roll beingsubstantially parallel to said pair of rolls and located above andbetween said pair of rolls and spaced above said applica tor roll whensaid lever means is in its lowered position whereby said sheet materialmay be drawn from said supply roll, over and around said third roll,over and around one of said pair of rolls, over said applicator roll,and under the other of said pair of rolls; a windup means for receivingsaid material from the other of said pair of rolls; and a brake meansmounted on said frame comprising pivoted crossbar having a friction padthereon which engages said supply roll of stock material to control thetension by which said sheet material is drawn therethrough to effect auniform coating of paraffin.

1. Apparatus for applying a suitable coating of paraffin over a sheetstock material which is impervious to both gas and moisture, comprisinga support frame; means mounted on said frame for rotatably supporting asupply roll of sheet stock material; an applicator roll having a portionwhich turns through a tray of liquid paraffin, said applicator roll andtray being mounted on said frame; a lever means pivotally mounted at oneend on said frame, the other end of said lever means being adjacent andabove said applicator roll when said lever means is in a loweredposition; a pair of parallel idler rolls mounted on said other end ofsaid lever means with said applicator roll being between said pair ofidler rolls when said lever means is in said lowered position; a thirdidler roll mounted on said other end of said lever arm, said roll beingsubstantially parallel to said pair of rolls and located above andbetween said pair of rolls and spaced above said applicator roll whensaid lever means is in its lowered position whereby said sheet materialmay be drawn from said supply roll, over and around said third roll,over and around one of said pair of rolls, over said applicator roll,and under the other of said pair of rolls; a windup means for receivingsaid material from the other of said pair of rolls; and a brake meansmounted on said frame comprising pivoted crossbar having a friction padthereon which engages said supply roll of stock material to control thetension by which said sheet material is drawn therethrough to effect auniform coating of paraffin.